I remember when I was also under the same assumption. Actually, when I was growing up, the only kind of cheesecake my mother ever made was the unbaked kind topped with pie filling. I never even asked her if she knew how to make cheesecake other than that type. Don't get me wrong, they were delicious but as I began to see the other options that were out there, I decided to widen my horizons and actually try to bake a cheesecake. I soon learned that I could say with confidence that I knew how to make cheesecake.

The first baked cheesecake I ever made was about 26 years ago, soon after I got married. I am a nurse and I was working at my first job. The hospital I worked at sponsored a recipe contest and then developed a cookbook from the submitted recipes. I saw the recipe for a cheesecake that sounded delicious so I thought why not?

I went out and bought a spring form pan (I still have that pan), bought the ingredients, baked my first cheesecake and never looked back. I actually have two spring form pans now as well as some mini cheesecake pans that a friend gave to me as a present.

I have a lot of hints on how to make cheesecake in my cheesecake tips section but there are some things I would like to re-emphasize.

2.)It is helpful but not necessary to place parchment paper in the bottom. This is particularly helpful if you are taking it to a social event and are afraid you will forget to bring home the bottom. It is just as easy o spray with nonstick spray...just don't forget both parts of the pan if you do take it somewhere!

3.)Try to buy quality ingredients and it really is best if you can have the cream cheese and eggs at room temperature.

4.)I like to place my cheesecake pan on a cookie sheet before I place it in the oven in case there is some leakage which I usually end up having. This is just a way to keep it from dripping to the bottom of your oven.

5.)A baked cheesecake is usually done when it is fairly firm an inch to two inches from the pan edges and the middle moves slightly when shake (but should not be too liquid looking).

6.)If a recipe calls for toasted nuts, an easy way to do this is preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spread the nuts out in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until lightly toasted. You can also do this in the microwave by placing the nuts in a single layer on a microwaveable plate. Microwave on high for 2 minutes then stir and continue to cook for another minute or two or until they are toasted to taste.

7.)If a recipe calls for a water bath, this is simply placing one pan into another larger pan before placing in the oven and adding water into the larger pan, usually about halfway up the outside of the smaller pan. This usually helps to make sure there is more even heating of the contents in the smaller pan.

8.)An easy way to make decorative chocolate garnishes is to melt semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time until smooth and melted. Drizzle the melted chocolate in decorative patterns onto a piece of wax paper and then refrigerate until firm (about 20 minutes). You then peel the garnishes off of the paper and use as desired for garnishing desserts. For the beginner who has not done this before, you might want to put the melted chocolate into a small resealable bag and cut off a tiny corner of the bag allowing you to pipe out the chocolate evenly by pressing on the bag to squeeze it out.

8.)A big thing I want to stress is follow the directions.Most of the problems I have had (Yes, I have had problems) are due to the fact that I wasn't paying close attention or skipped a step, etc. An embarrassing example of this was just last week.I was baking a cheesecake for Christmas and even though I always stress doing a certain thing, I didn't do it and my cheesecake showed it. For the beginner, this might have been expected, but I should have known better. The good thing was that it tasted great and the toppings covered up most of my mistake. The mistake I am referring to is that I didn't loosen the cake from the edges of the pan when I removed it from the oven. The result was that as the cake cooled, it started to pull from the center and I developed a large crack in the middle.

Remember...take your time, read through the instructions carefully and soon you'll be able to say that you know how to make cheesecake too.

Graham Cracker
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